Before I take a cookie hiatus, I was to share one of my favorite Christmas cookies I’ve made this year. Part sweet, part savory. Perfect for nibbling on before a big dinner. I can’t wait to experiment with more shortbreads in the future, but this might just be my favorite one!

I’ve been working from home recently and it’s been going very well. I predicted that my proximity to my kitchen would result in an overindulgence of sweets and baking projects, but surprisingly I’ve been able to restrain myself. And actually I’ve been finding that I’m eating more healthy because I have the time and resources to cook great food every day.

Despite that, we all have dessert cravings every so often. One recent afternoon I repeatedly walked over to my pantry to stare at the stacked jars of nutella and peanut butter. I wanted them both. I thought about dipping a spoon sideways into each one so that I could taste them equally as I slowly licked the spoon. (I’m a pro at this technique.) But I wanted something more than just a spoonful of this super combination. So one late afternoon, I whipped up a small batch of shortbread cookies, with sole purpose to deliver the nutella and peanut butter to my mouth. They were so much better than the spoon method. The 20 minutes of chilling time aside (sweet cravings can make me a little impatient), these were so simple and quick to whip up. This could get dangerous…

Mini Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Nutella and Peanut Butter

Makes about 8-10 mini cookie sandwiches

2 sticks butter

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 cup corn starch

Preheat oven to 325°

Cream butter and sugar together. Sift in flour and corn starch and blend together using a pastry cutter (you know, that attachment that looks like Captain Hook’s hook?)

Form dough into a big ball (it might be a little dry and flaky but thats ok) and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 20 minutes.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut into rounds using a small round cookie cutter (the rim of a shot glass can work for this too). Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, but don’t let them them brown.

Spread nutella, creamy peanut butter, or even some raspberry jam between two cookies. Snack on while you drink your afternoon coffee.

Do you have a go-to afternoon sweet snack? Something to help get you through the last few hours of the work day? I’m always taking suggestions!

Oh, summer peaches…. I grew up in the small town of Chester, New Jersey. It’s known for the following things: antiquing, the fall craft fair, the giant corn maze shaped like a pirate ship or dinosaur, a restaurant called the Turkey Farm, and the August peach festival. Yeah. Exciting. It really was a wonderful town to grow up in, but seriously, even people from New York come to New Jersey for these things…tons of them. Despite that I adore all of these things, it boggles my mind. You people live in a city where real things happen. The peach festival, however, now that’s a special event.

Hundreds of people visit the Chester peach festival every summer, which is hosted in the front yard of a church in the center of town. There are crates and crates of peaches stacked up high. And peach jam. Peach pies. Peach ice cream. Oh and some banjo music and antiques too probably.

The point is, this sweet smell and taste of peaches is my epitome of summer.

The peaches at the DC farmer’s markets have been pretty good. (Maybe even peach festival worthy.) I’ve been grabbing a couple every weekend and if I don’t devour them right away, I’ve been trying out baking different things with them.

This crumbly peach short bread was so simple and had all my favorite buttery flavors plus perfect sweet peach slices. It would be a great dessert to bring on a picnic or even as a special little breakfast.

Sadly, I’m missing the Chester peach festival this year…so I guess I’ll have to make up for it with more desserts. Like this little galette I just whipped up the other night for dessert for my boyfriend. So easy, so peachy, so summery.